Return
by WestWing
Summary: After five years away, Valkyrie Cain finally returns to Ireland, sees her family again, and starts a new case with Skulduggery. I started writing this before Resurrection was released so it's basically my own take on what happens after The Dying of the Light.
1. Chapter 1

The young woman with the dark hair stood on the porch for the first time in five years, trying to maintain even breathing despite the racing beat of her heart. With a shaking hand, she reached up and knocked on the door in front of her. A few moments later it swung open to reveal a little girl about six years of age behind it, and the sight of the girl made the young woman's breath hitch. She stared at the little girl, eyes wide.

"Hello," the girl said sweetly, but the young woman was too shocked to respond.

"Alice," came a woman's voice from inside. "What did I tell you about answering the door." The woman came into view behind Alice, and when she caught sight of the young woman, Melissa Edgley stopped dead in her tracks. "Desmond," she called, not moving from where she stood or looking away from the door. The young woman could hear footsteps approaching from another room.

"What is it?" he asked his wife as he walked into the entry way. He looked over to the open door to see the young woman standing there, and joined his wife in staring.

"Stephanie," Melissa said in awe. "Sorry—Valkyrie," she corrected herself.

"It's okay," Valkyrie Cain replied, hands still trembling as she slid them into her pockets. "You can call me Stephanie."

"You—you don't look any different," her father stammered and she noticed that his hair had begun to gray in spots. "You look like you just left yesterday."  
She shrugged. "Magic will do that."

"Yeah, of course," he breathed. They all stayed where they were—except Alice who had wandered into the other room—until finally her mum rushed forward and enveloped her in a hug.

"You're back," her mum said as her dad came over too, wrapping an arm around each of them.

"I'm back," she said, relieved.

They both let her go, but didn't take their eyes off of her.

"Are you—are you staying?" her mum asked, stammering with nerves.

"Yeah," she said. "I'm living in Gordon's house." She had already taken over some of her stuff and visited with her late uncle*, who had agreed that the house was hers and she had every right to live there if she wanted.

"Where were you all this time?" her dad asked. "You just picked up and left. You didn't even say goodbye, you just left a note that said not to worry."

"After everything that happened five years ago, I—I just needed to get away for a while." She didn't add that the reason that she needed to get away was because she couldn't forgive herself for everything that she had done. She also omitted that "everything that happened" included killing Alice.

"Would you like to come in? Have some tea?" her mum asked hopefully, crossing her arms over her body.

"Yeah, that would be nice," she said.

Valkyrie told them about how she had gone to America and what happened with Danny as they made tea. They all ended up on the couch in the living room, each of them with a mug of tea, even Alice had a plastic cup of juice, though her mum sent her upstairs to play after Valkyrie warned them the story about Danny had a few unpleasant bits.

"What about that Skulduggery Pleasant?" her mum asked. "Have you seen him since you got back?"

"Yeah," she answered, looking at all the Alice toys that were scattered around the room. "He picked me up when I decided I was ready to come back."

"He checked in on us occasionally while you were gone," her dad said. "I don't think he wanted us to know, but I would sometimes see that odd car of his drive past the house." She smiled a bit at the thought of the Bentley.

"Did he know where you went? Was he okay with it?" her mum asked.

"He knew. I don't think he was very happy that I decided to leave, but he understood why I needed to."

"Do you think you'll come back?" Skulduggery had asked when Valkyrie told him when she was leaving. He hadn't sounded angry, he had sounded calm and collected, though she could tell he didn't want her to go.

"I don't know, yet," she had admitted. "I hope so."

He had been there for one final goodbye when Fletcher teleported her away, even after she insisted it wasn't necessary.

In the pocket of her trousers, her mobile began to ring. She looked at the screen. "That's him now. I should take this." Her parents looked a bit concerned but didn't say anything, so Valkyrie walked into the kitchen and pressed the accept button on her phone.

"Hey," she said.

"Have you seen them?" Skulduggery asked on the other end.

"Yeah, I'm at the house right now."  
"How are they taking it?"

"Pretty good I think. I mean, as well as they could be expected to after I was basically dead to them for five years. They mainly just seem shocked."  
"They'll be okay," he paused. He was almost hesitant as he added "I know you just got there, but if you're up for it, we have a case."

"Already?" she asked.

"Another of Mevolent's followers, probably not anything big, but… Can you meet me at the pier in ten minutes?"

"Sir, yes sir," she mocked, hanging up her phone.

Valkyrie walked back out into the living room, where her parents sat, their eyes following her as she walked into the room.

"I have to go," she told them. "I'm meeting Skulduggery, but I'll be back. Probably not today, but soon."  
They both looked at her, concern in their eyes.

"I promise," she said. "I love you," she added with sincerity.

"We love you, too, Steph," her mum said.

"Be careful," her dad said, standing up.

"Always," she told them, and hugged them once more. As she walked down to the pier, she glanced back at the house. Her parents stood in the front window, watching her leave.

Next to the pier sat a 1954 Bentley R-Type Continental, with a thin man in a suit leaning against it, his sunglasses and scarf covering his face.

"What happened to the façade?" she asked, leaning on her arms against the other side of the car as the man turned to face her.

"I just like to mix things up every once in a while," Skulduggery replied.

"Really?" she asked incredulously.

"Really."

"It got messed up and China was too busy to fix it, wasn't she?"

His head drooped a little. "Yes." China was still Grand Mage of the Sanctuary, which made her the longest lasting Grand Mage since Eachan Meritorious.

Valkyrie opened the passenger door and climbed into the car, glad to be in the beautiful car once again. Skulduggery got into the other side and started the engine.

"Where are we going?" Valkyrie asked as Skulduggery pulled away from the pier.

"Somewhere really fun."

"By somewhere really fun you mean..?"

"Somewhere not fun at all, and most likely very dangerous."

"Finally," she grinned.

 ***Low-key forgot Gordon was wiped from the echo stone, so just gonna pretend that never happened. Okay? Okay.**


	2. Chapter 2

The town hadn't changed at all, Valkyrie realized as they drove through Haggard. She saw more than one familiar face, and very few new ones, out the window of the Bentley. She even saw Hannah Foley near the edge of town. She was walking with a man Valkyrie assumed was her husband and had a baby in a stroller. Hannah wasn't the first classmate Valkyrie had seen that was now married, she was the fourth—the second who now had a kid.

"Ugh," Valkyrie sighed, leaning her head back against the seat. "I'm so old."

Skulduggery looked over at her and tilted his head.

"Everyone I went to school with is grown up now. They're getting married and having kids and doing all these adult things and it's weird," she explained.

"Well, you can't have expected them not to change while you were gone. Five years is quite a long time, especially to mortals," he said as they drove past the city limits.

"I know, but seeing Alice older was one thing—I mean, it was still a bit of a shock, but I was expecting it. I didn't even think about what everyone else was going to look like when I got back."

"Ah," he said. "I see."

Skulduggery parked the Bentley at a park that Valkyrie had been to once or twice when she was younger in a nearby town. They took care of the Mevolent follower, a middle aged man in raggedy clothes, and were on the road again with the man in the back seat within thirty minutes.

"The Faceless Ones will return! Then you'll be sorry!" he proclaimed.

"Give it a rest, John," Valkyrie said, a bit annoyed with all his proclamations. In the five minutes they had been in the car, he had already made about twenty of them. "Where to next?" she asked Skulduggery trying to ignore the man in the back seat as he continued to mutter to himself.

"The Sanctuary to drop off John," he told her. She frowned realizing she didn't even know where the Sanctuary was now.

"Where is the Sanctuary these days?" she asked.

"You'll see."

"You'll see when the Faceless Ones return!" shouted John.

"Shut up, John," they said in unison.

"What do you mean, 'You'll see'?" Valkyrie asked Skulduggery

"I mean, you'll see," he said. "Patience is a virtue, Valkyrie."

"I hate it when you say that," she sighed in annoyance, and watched the landscape zoom by outside. Ten minutes and many proclamations later they entered Dublin. They turned down a familiar street and she realized where the Sanctuary might be.

"No," she breathed

"A couple years ago, they rebuilt the wax museum," Skulduggery explained. "And when they did, the council decided to rebuild something else."

"Oh my God," was all she could say.

Skulduggery pulled into the parking lot of the museum and she saw school children walking inside, evidently on a field trip. They got out of the car, Skulduggery wrapping his scarf around his jaw and warning John not to run away, since they had to take off his handcuffs to avoid suspicion. Skulduggery bought three tickets for the museum and they went inside.

They neared the new, but familiar, Phil Lynott figure, and a group of tourists were scattered around the area. Valkyrie and Skulduggery pretended to be interested in the figures as they waited. Luckily, a tour guide came along and lead the group away.

"Would you like to do the honors?" he asked when the area was clear. Valkyrie smiled and began sliding her hand around the wall until she found the switch. With a faint click, the wall opened and they walked in.

"Not that I didn't like the Sanctuary being in Dublin or anything," she said as they walked through the halls that looked essentially the same as they had before Davina Marr had destroyed them. "But you would think they would be able to figure out an easier way to open the entrance after all this time."

"Are you criticizing the Council?" said a familiar voice behind her and she turned around.

"China," Valkyrie beamed when she saw the woman standing there.

"Valkyrie Cain," China remarked with her usual calm demeanor, striding towards them. "I heard you were back in the country."

"Yeah, I am," is all she said. China looked nearly the same as she had five years ago. The same raven black hair and beautiful blue eyes, though she looked more tired, which Valkyrie supposed was due to the fact that she was now running a Sanctuary.

"It's good to see you again," China added. "Who is this you have with you?" she wondered, looking at the man's grubby clothes with a faint look of disgust.

"This is John," Skulduggery told her. "Say 'hello' John,"

"You will regret not accepting the Faceless Ones! Mevolent was smart! He accepted them!" John proclaimed.

"I see," China said simply. "Cleavers." She directed two of them forward with a flick of her finger in John's direction. The gray clad soldiers took hold of John's arms and lead him away down an adjoining hall, past a blonde woman walking towards them, looking at a folder in her hands. When the woman looked up at China and saw Valkyrie standing next to her, she paused for a moment, staring at Valkyrie like she was a ghost, before sprinting forward and wrapping Valkyrie in a hug.

"Val!" Tanith Low exclaimed before letting Valkyrie go.

"Tanith," Valkyrie said. "It's so good to see you!"

"It's good to see me? It's good to see you! For all I knew I was never going to see you again."

Valkyrie winced. "Yeah, sorry about that. I just needed to get away, but I'm back now."

"Good," Tanith said sounding relieved. They both stood there for a moment smiling at each other.

"What's that?" China asked pointing to the file folder in Tanith's hand.

"Oh," Tanith said, looking down at it. "I almost forgot. This is why I was looking for you. It's a file on Kenny Dune." She handed it to China, who opened it up and skimmed through the pages.

"Thank you," China said. "I should go review this. It was nice to see you again Valkyrie." With a wave goodbye, she walked off down a hall in the opposite direction that the cleavers had gone.

Valkyrie turned to Tanith. "Why were you bringing her a file? That seems like something an Elder would do."

"Well, it is something an Elder would do because I'm a part-time Elder," Tanith admitted with a shrug.

Valkyrie frowned. "Part-time?"  
"No one who was trusted and respected enough to be an Elder after the war was willing to commit," Skulduggery explained. "So, the sorcerers of the Sanctuary came to a compromise."

"They decided the Council would be composed of seven mages, including the Grand Mage, so no one had to commit to full time and could, at least in part, keep up their other jobs. For the most part, we just have to be here for votes and things like this," Tanith elaborated. "At first, it was meant to be temporary, but after a while we realized it worked pretty well, so we kept it." Tanith shrugged.

"And the other Sanctuaries don't mind?" Valkyrie asked.

"I think they're just happy that we're functioning at all after everything that happened," Tanith admitted. "They don't really care how."

"Wow," Valkyrie said. "So, who are the Elders?"  
"Myself, Dexter Vex," Tanith began listing off the names on her fingers. "Geoffrey Scrutinous, Cassandra, some young bloke whose name I still don't know, and Skulduggery."

Valkyrie slowly turned on her heel to face Skulduggery, her mouth forming an O shape.

"Oh. My. God," she said, half-surprised, half-excited.

"Yes, yes, I know," Skulduggery said, trying to brush it off.

"You. An Elder. Do I have to call you Elder Pleasant from now on?" She grinned. Excited. She was definitely excited. She was going to make fun of him so much for this.

"Don't call me that," he said seriously.

"Oh, I'm sorry Elder Pleasant. What would you like me to call you?" she mocked.

He turned to Tanith. "Why did you have to tell her that?" he complained with a annoyed sigh.

"You're the one who agreed to be an Elder. You should have known she would come back and find out," Tanith said.

"Yes, but I figured by then I would have been kicked off the council," he explained.

"For what?" Valkyrie asked. "Being too elderly." Both her and Tanith broke into uncontrollable laughter.

"Ha ha," he said dryly. "Make fun of the skeleton."

"It's just so easy though, Elder Pleasant," Valkyrie said making them both laugh again.

"Can we focus on more important things? Did you say that file was on Kenny Dune?" Skulduggery asked as their laughs died out, effectively changing the topic and bringing them back to focus.

"Yeah," Tanith said, wiping a tear of laughter from her eye. "He's been stirring up some trouble again."

"Wait," said Valkyrie. "That's the guy who gave my parents that flash drive." That flash drive was the reason her parents found out about magic. It was the reason they knew about her other life.

"Recently, he's being trying to make his documentary again," Tanith told them. "He's been trying to film sorcerers and he wants to find the Sanctuary. He knows it's in the museum, but he hasn't figured out how to get in yet, but he's been looking around for it the past few days."

Skulduggery thought for a moment before turning to Valkrie.

"Maybe it's time for Detective Inspector Me to pay Mr. Dune a visit," he said.


	3. Chapter 3

Five years ago, Kenny Dune had hit a bit of a low point. This was saying something considering the fact that before he reached this point he had spent over a year pursuing a story that was never supported, and before that he hadn't had much more. Five years ago though, after Valkyrie died and he abandoned the project, he hit his true low point. He gave up on journalism, and for several months he didn't have a job. He moved back in with his mom and spent his time watching day time television.

Eventually, he had gotten better. He got a job. It wasn't a good job; it was a desk job. He entered numbers into a computer all day, but he loved it. He wasn't sure why because it wasn't at all exciting. Maybe that's why he liked it. After watching the war, maybe he had had enough excitement—certainly more than he had expected when he became a journalist. That was why he had become a journalist, for excitement, but the war was too much. He had spent the last four years at that job. He never did move out of his mother's house, but he had made friends in the office, which was a first for him. The job had been enough until a couple weeks ago.

He had been cleaning out an old computer bag when he found a flash drive. It was unmarked and he didn't remember what he had used it for, so he plugged it into his computer. He quickly realized what it was. When he had made the flash drive for Valkyrie's family he had been half asleep by the time he was finishing. When he went to put the video onto the drive he could have sworn he already put it on, but it wasn't there. He now realized he must have put it on then misplaced the drive and started again, thinking he had just misremembered. He had all but forgotten about the documentary until that moment, but once he found it again, he remembered how important it had been to him. He ended up watching the video multiple times, staying up all night to do so. By the morning, he had a new purpose. He realized he had to make this documentary because Valkyrie's story, and the story of all the other sorcerers who had died, was too important not to be told. People had to know what had been sacrificed for them. He would probably have to blur out some of the faces, like Valkyrie's, but he had most of the footage he needed. He could still do it.

He had begun his investigation again, starting by sifting through newspaper articles online for hours, trying to find anything out of the ordinary. An article had come up on one newspaper site about the Waxworks Museum being rebuilt and Kenny had noticed something odd in the picture that accompanied the article. He zoomed in and saw a car he recognized in the background, a black Bentley, and next to it a tall, skinny man in a suit. Between the car and the man's build, Kenny could tell who it was.

So here he was for the fourth time this week, buying a ticket for the museum from the bored looking teenager behind the counter.

"Weren't you here yesterday?" the girl asked in a monotone voice as she took the bill he handed her.

"No," he lied. "I'm from out of town, just got here yesterday."  
She squinted her eyes at him. "No, you were here yesterday. I remember you walking around all weird." She took the ticket out of the printer and held it out.

"Nope, definitely not me," he said taking the ticket and hurrying inside before she could respond.

He knew it was a long shot that Skulduggery Pleasant would be here, after all it was just one picture, but he had searched the internet for hours and still hadn't found anything else, so this was his only lead.

Once again, he found himself by the J. K. Rowling wax figure. He liked J. K. Rowling and he liked Harry Potter. He figured someone with magic was most likely to hang out near the figure of a person who wrote about magic, no matter how ridiculous the theory sounded, even to him. Around him, tourists swarmed in groups through the museum, taking pictures with the figures, oblivious to the truth of why they were still alive.

"Pardon me, sir," said a smooth, vaguely familiar, voice from behind him, making him jump. "I'm Detective Inspector Me and I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to come with me."

"On what account?" Kenny asked turning around, a bit annoyed. He then realized he had known that voice because it belonged to Skulduggery Pleasant, who now stood in front of him. There was a scarf wrapped around his jaw and sunglasses over his eyes, but based on the suit, the hat, and the voice, undeniably Skulduggery.

He had forgotten about the Detective Inspector Me bit.

Next to Skulduggery stood a girl, about nineteen, tall, dark hair, dark eyes. Kenny's eyes widened at the sight of her. "But—but, you're dead," he whispered, voice embarrassingly high with fear.

"Excuse me, sir?" Valkyrie said innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You—you're—you're dead!" he practically yelled.

"Okay, enough of that, sir," said the detective calmly. "I think it's time you came with us." Skulduggery's bony fingers wrapped around Kenny's upper arm as he led him out into the cool, overcast day, and into the Bentley, which was waiting right outside the museum's doors.

"You're dead!" he cried again as they motioned for him to get into the backseat of the car. "I saw you die. You can't be alive."

"Haven't you ever heard of a ghost?" Valkyrie asked, getting into the car. Once inside, Skulduggery looked over at her and tilted his head in a question, to which she responded with a raised eyebrow.

"You're—you're a ghost," he stammered.

"Unfortunately," Skulduggery began. "When my partner here died she couldn't find peace and completely pass on, so she got stuck here—not alive or dead. Just existing."

"It's really a lot harder than you would think," Valkyrie said, a sad look on her face. "I can't eat or sleep. Sometimes I can't help but pass through surfaces. I'll just randomly sink through the floor or a chair, sometimes even a wall. I'm surprised I haven't passed through this seat yet."

"That sounds awful," Kenny said, thinking about how glad he was he wasn't a ghost.

"It really is," she said.

"Why am I here though?" Kenny asked.

"We heard you were working on your documentary again," Skulduggery said.

"Yeah, that's why I was here at the museum. I saw a picture of it a couple weeks ago and you were in the background. I couldn't find any other leads, so I came here, in case you were here again," Kenny explained.

Valkyrie started crying quietly in the passenger seat.

"What?" Kenny asked. "What happened?"  
"After everything that happened, I just want to live as normal a life as possible. I don't want people to know what happened to me—what I've been reduced to," she sobbed into her hands.

"I'm going to change your name and blur your face," Kenny said.

"I don't want people to know what happened to me, even if they don't _know_ it's me. I just want to forget what happened."

"I can exclude you from the documentary if you really want," he offered.

"Really?" she asked hopefully, lifting her head.

"Yeah, of course."

"Thing is Kenny," Skulduggery said. "We've talked to some of the other sorcerer's ghosts about this, and they all agreed they don't want to be in the documentary."

"Really?" he asked.

"Really. I don't think you should include any of the dead sorcerers, just to be on the safe side. You don't want to be the target of an angry ghost, do you?"

"No, of course not." He thought about all the ghost movies he had seen. He didn't want to end up like one of those movies.

"And the other thing is, the living sorcerers we've talked to, none of them wanted to be in it either. You shouldn't include any of them either."

"Well, how am I supposed to make a documentary about sorcerers without any video of sorcerers?"

"Some well-drawn pictures?" Valkyrie suggested.

"I don't know how to draw," Kenny said.

"Maybe you can find a friend to do it for you," Skulduggery suggested.

"I don't have any friends who can draw. All my friends are accountants."

"It's never too late to make new friends."

"I guess I'll just think of a new idea for a documentary," Kenny said, shoulders slumping. All that work. He had been so excited to start again. It was all over now—really over.

"I think that would be your safest option," Skulduggery said, regretfully.

"Thanks for telling me," Kenny muttered, dejectedly before getting out of the Bentley and walking back to his own car. He sat in his seat without starting the car for longer than he would like to admit, thinking about what had just happened. It was over. He didn't want die, which is what always happened to people in those ghost movies. He liked living, even if his life wasn't what he expected it to be.

"Unless," he whispered to himself in realization. "Someone else releases it." People used fake names all the time, so why not him? He started the car and drove off, already making a mental list of things he needed to change in the documentary to cover his tracks.


	4. Chapter 4

"A ghost, huh?" Skulduggery asked as they drove to Gordon's house.

"Haven't you heard of them?" Valkyrie asked with a grin. "I kind of feel bad for Kenny," she admitted. "I mean he was so excited about that documentary."

"That documentary that would have exposed magic to the entire world."

"Well, there is that little detail."

"Yes there is."

She looked out the window. She had missed Ireland. She had missed the ocean, the overcast days, the mildness of the weather. There had been nothing mild about the weather in Colorado. It had either been hot or cold, never in between like in Ireland.

They pulled into the drive, and got out. The house was still just as grand as it had been when she left. The door creaked she opened it. She would have to take care of that now that it was her house. Technically, it had been her house for years—essentially since she was twelve—but it was different now that she was actually living here.

As soon as they walked inside, Xena came running over. The German Shepard's tail wagged excitedly and Valkyrie pet her head. One thing she had liked about Meek Ridge was Xena. She had always wanted a dog, but her parents never let her get one.

Skulduggery sighed as Xena got hair on his pants, which made Valkyrie laugh. Xena was constantly shedding, but Valkyrie had gotten used to it.

"Valkyrie?" came Gordon's voice from upstairs. "Is that you?"

"Yeah," she said taking off her jacket and hanging it on the coat rack by the door. That was another thing she had missed, her black clothes.

She and Skulduggery followed the voice to Gordon's study. Inside, Gordon was standing next to the echo stone, which sat in its charging cradle like always, but he wasn't alone. Next to him, stood Fletcher, blonde hair still as ridiculous as ever.

Valkyrie had only seen Fletcher once since she came back, and that was when he teleported her back from Meek Ridge. To her understanding, he was still a monster hunter and when he wasn't with them, he spent most of his time in Ireland. If she was being completely honest, she felt a bit awkward around him. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to act after what happened with Stephanie. She didn't know if he wanted to be friends with her anymore, though he must not hate her considering the fact that he helped her move to America and helped her move back.

"Hi, Fletcher," she said, trying to cover any unsureness.

"Hey, Val," he said with a polite smile. "I was just talking to Gordon about his book." He held up a thick book she hadn't noticed in his hand before. Valkyrie hadn't known he liked to read. He looked a bit embarrassed about it. "I just finished it. The ending was crazy."

"Which one?" she asked.

"What?" he asked.

"Which book did you read?"

" _And the Darkness Rained Upon Them_."

"I read that one. It was good." She had actually read it more than once while she was in Colorado. "It was a pretty crazy ending, though, Gordon," she said turning to her uncle.

"It was based on a true story," Gordon said. "That's what happened. You remember it, right?" He asked Skulduggery.

"Hard not to," Skulduggery replied.

"Anyway," Fletcher said. "I should go."

"Big plans?" Valkyrie asked. It was a Friday night after all, Fletcher probably had something going on.

"Not really," he admitted. "Just thought I should get out of your way."

"That's ridiculous," she said. "You're not in the way. You don't have to leave unless you want to."

"Oh, okay," he said, not leaving, but looking a bit uncomfortable. He also seemed to be unsure of how to act around Valkyrie.

"So," Gordon said. "What have you two been up to?"  
"Remember Kenny Dune?" Skulduggery asked, to which Fletcher and Gordon both nodded. "He decided to start working on his documentary again, the one about sorcerers. We had a little talk with him."

"A little talk?" Fletcher asked.

"We may or may not have told him that if he released his documentary the angry ghosts of the sorcerers that died would haunt him," Valkyrie smiled. "We also may have told him that I was a ghost." This made both Gordon and Fletcher grin.

"Did he believe you?" Gordon laughed.

"Yeah, and I'm a little worried by how easily he accepted it. I—," there was a knock on the front door. She frowned. Who would knock on the door? If it was Tanith, she would let herself in, since they hadn't locked it. They all looked at each other. "I guess I'll go get that."

Valkyrie walked back down the stairs, mentally preparing herself for the possibility of a fight as she recalled the man who had knocked on the door when she was twelve. Skulduggery and Fletcher waited on the stairs, also remembering how often people had attacked them over the years. Valkyrie opened the front door and behind it stood a young man, tall, blonde, and attractive. He looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she had seen him before.

"Hi, Valkyrie," he said.

"Hi," she responded, making it sound like a question, confusion obvious in her tone.

"I have something I need to talk to you about." He paused. She didn't say anything "Can I come in?" he finally asked.

She blinked. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Hansard. Hansard Kray," he shifted, uncomfortable. "We met at the Requiem Ball, and again on the invisible train."

"Oh," she said, then paused. "Sure, come in." She opened the door wider, allowing him to walk through it, and closing it behind him.

"Thanks." He took off his coat, which was wet from the rain that had begun to fall from the sky, and held it on his arm. Skulduggery and Fletcher came the rest of the way down the stairs. Hansard regarded the others and none of them seemed to recognize him, though in Fletcher's defense, he had never met Hansard before.

Hansard seemed to realize this, and looked as though he felt quite awkward about it. Valkyrie saw this, but let him struggle anyway because, even though it had happened years ago, she was still a bit annoyed that he hadn't wanted her number. She watched him stand there, opening his mouth as if about to speak, and closing it again several times.

Skulduggery was the first to break the silence.

"This is a lovely little gathering we have here," he said.

"I didn't realize you had company," Hansard said, fidgeting a bit.

She shrugged. "You didn't ask."

He didn't respond.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

He hesitated. "It's my father. I don't know if you remember him. He's—"

"Crazy?" she interrupted. "Yeah, I remember him."

He paused before continuing. "Well, a week ago, I came home and he wasn't there, but that happens a lot, so I didn't think anything of it. The next morning, when he still hadn't come home, I called him, but he didn't answer. I figured he probably just got drunk and got lost, or something. Then, yesterday I got this note in the mail." He took a piece of paper out of the back pocket of his jeans and handed it to her.

"Is this a serial killer note?" she asked skeptically, not bothering to read it, and holding it out for the others to see. The words were all of magazine and newspaper clippings. "Who makes these anymore? Why didn't they just type the note?"  
"Because people are idiots," Skulduggery said, taking the note from her and examining it.

"Ah, that," she said.

"Why are you bringing us this note?" Skulduggery asked, looking up at from the paper. "Why not take it to the Sanctuary?"

"Might as well just take it directly to an elder," Valkyrie muttered under her breath, with a grin, which earned her a look from Skulduggery.

"The Sanctuary…isn't exactly fond of my father," Hansard said.

"And you think we are?" Skulduggery asked, skeptically.

"Well, no, but—"  
"No offence, but why should we care that your father ran off his mouth again and got himself into some trouble?" Valkyrie asked.

"Read the note," Hansard told them.

"̒To whom it may concern,'" Skulduggery read aloud. "̒I have Arthur Dagan. Sincerely, Killer Supreme, obedient servant of Mevolent.'"

"How very blatant," Valkyrie observed.

"That's what Scapegrace used to call himself, isn't it?" Fletcher asked. "'Killer Supreme.'"

"I heard that you knew him, Scapegrace that is, which is why I thought you should see this. The Mevolent part, I don't know what that's about, but I figured you two are the most likely to figure it out now that Valkyrie's back," Hansard told them.

"Yeah, but Scapegrace isn't bad anymore," Valkyrie paused. "Well, the argument can be made that he never really was," she admitted. "I mean he never actually killed anyone when he was 'Killer Supreme', but still, he wouldn't do something like this. He's never even met Mevolent."

"So who's 'Killer Supreme' then?" Fletcher asked.

"That does seem to be the question," said Skulduggery. Valkyrie yawned into her hand. "Valkyrie and I will go talk to Scapegrace tomorrow morning, see if he knows anything about who may be using his old name." Hansard didn't move. "You can go now."

"Oh, of course," he said awkwardly. "Well, I'll see you, I guess." He put his jacket back on and walked out into the rain. Valkyrie watched his car pull out of the driveway through the window.

"Do you mind if I come?" asked Fletcher.

Skulduggery looked at him and tilted his head. "I don't see why you shouldn't," he said at last with a shrug.

Plans for the next morning were made, and Skulduggery and Fletcher left. Gordon had already returned to his echo stone when they had gone downstairs, and Valkyrie was alone. She went upstairs to what was now her room and sat down on her bed, Xena ran into the room and jumped onto it next to her. On the back of her door there was a full length mirror, not unlike the one she had had in her room when she was twelve. Looking at it, she couldn't help but be reminded of Stephanie.

Valkyrie had avoided thinking about stuff like that all day, which had been easy enough with everything that had gone on and how busy she had been, but now that she was by herself, it was harder. She didn't want to think about what happened with Darquesse, or that she had left without saying goodbye to her parents, or that Alice was six now and she had already missed so much of her sister's life.

She got into bed, but her brain refused to turn off and sleep evaded her. By the time she got up the next morning, she had had about two hours of sleep. The little sleep she did have was filled with dreams, and not the good kind. In them, she was Darquesse again, but this time no one saved her. She woke up drenched in sweat, and tried to forget her dreams as she got dressed.


	5. Chapter 5

"Where did you even find Scapegrace's new address?" asked Fletcher from the backseat as they drove across Dublin. Fletcher had tried to get into the passenger seat initially, as that's where he had sat the few times he had ridden with Skulduggery in the last five years, but had quickly realized it was still Valkyrie's spot.

"The Sanctuary had it on file," said Skulduggery. "He is a rather special case, so they figured they should keep some kind of tab on him."

"How much longer?" complained Valkyrie, who was still half asleep. Skulduggery had picked her up just after the sun had risen.

"Should be almost there."

The neighborhood they were driving through held buildings whose conditions ranged from fairly nice to run down. Most of the people Valkyrie saw walking around did not exactly look friendly. She briefly wondered if Clarabelle's hair would still be blue.

They pulled into a parking garage and all got out of the Bentley.

"What's the apartment number?" asked Valkyrie.

"24 C," replied Skulduggery.

"There better be an elevator," grumbled Valkyrie.

There was no elevator. Fortunately, 24 C was on the third floor, so they only had to go up two flights of stairs, and by the time they reached the top of the second flight not even Fletcher was winded, though Valkyrie supposed that it was possible he had started working out since she left.

The hallway that housed Scapegrace's apartment had dingy, faded floral wallpaper that looked like it had been painted with old coffee grounds and had a mildew stain running along the bottom. The carpet looked as though it had been installed in the eighties and was rarely cleaned. Even the ceiling had a stain, which was admittedly less of a feat when magic was involved.

24 C was nestled at the far end of the hallway, and Skulduggery rapped his glove covered knuckles against the pale green door.

They heard footsteps from inside the apartment and the door creaked open to reveal a young woman with faded blue hair.

The woman's eyes widened. "Valerie, you're back!" she exclaimed.

"Actually, it's Valkyrie," Valkyrie corrected.

"Are you sure?"

"Fairly sure."

"Alright," she shrugged.

"Clarabelle, is Scapegrace here?" asked Skulduggery.

Clarabelle's brow furrowed. "I'm not sure." She turned back to yell into the apartment, "Scapey!"

"What?" mumbled Scapegrace from inside. "Who's at the door? Oh." He saw them standing outside.

"Can we come in?" asked Skulduggery already walking through the door, Valkyrie and Fletcher following.

"Yeah, of course," said Scapegrace, pretending he had any say in whether or not they came in. "You want something to drink? I think we might have some tea."

"No," said Clarabelle. "I drank the rest of that."

"We still have water," Scapegrace said.

Valkyrie frowned. "Is Thrasher here?"

"Yeah, he's somewhere around here. He's been getting a bit moody lately. Sometimes he'll just go hide in his room for hours."

A muffled voice came from behind one of the walls, "I am not moody."

"See what I mean? But really do you guys want some water?"

"I think we're good," said Fletcher.

"Oh. Okay," he said, almost disappointed.

"Actually, I am a little thirsty," said Valkyrie, and Scapegrace perked up and happily walked to the kitchen area. Fletcher looked at her. "He seemed disappointed," she whispered.

When he returned, he handed her a glass with smudges on it filled with murky water.

"Do you want to sit?" Scapegrace asked, motioning towards a pair of worn plaid couches, and the five of them sat down, Clarabelle obviously already mentally gone.

"Scapegrace, we're here to talk about something rather serious," said Skulduggery. Valkyrie looked at her water, and decided she definitely was not going to drink it.

"What is it?" asked Scapegrace.

"Is one of you dying?" asked Clarabelle, looking intently at Fletcher.

"Why are you looking at me?" asked Fletcher.

She shrugged. "Just a feeling." Fletcher frowned.

"No," said Skulduggery, steering the conversation back on track. "Someone has been using your old name, 'Killer Supreme,' and if you know anything about it, you have to tell us."

"Someone's calling themselves 'Killer Supreme,' but I came up with that name." He quickly added, "I mean, obviously I'm not going to use it anymore, but still, isn't there some kind of copyright law on that?"

"So, I take it you don't know anything about this?" asked Valkyrie.

"No," Scapegrace said, shaking his head. "If I knew about this, I would have already told you."

"Well, if you hear anything be sure to tell us," said Skulduggery.

"Alright. Maybe since this one has to do with my old name I can tag along."

"I don't think so."

"Oh."

"Thanks for the water," said Valkyrie, setting down the glass, glad to be done with it. "And say hi to Thrasher for me."

"Okay."

"Bye Clarabelle," said Valkyrie, receiving only a quick wave in response.

Back out in the hallway Fletcher asked, "If it isn't connected to Scapegrace, what do we do next?"

"Wait for another note," answered Skulduggery.

"Do you think there will be another note?" Valkyrie could here stomping from the floor above them and could see particles floating down from the ceiling.

"Hansard's father is extremely wealthy. If you were trying to blackmail him, would you give up that quickly?"

"I wouldn't," said Valkyrie. "Especially since he's so awful and I wouldn't feel bad about taking his money."

"Good point," said Fletcher. "Do you think we should update Hansard?"

"This isn't exactly progress," Valkyrie pointed out. "Besides I don't have his number," she added with a hint of annoyance.

Skulduggery laughed faintly, and Fletcher looked confused.

"Would you like to tell the story of your rejection Valkyrie or should I?" asked Skulduggery.

"It wasn't a rejection," she grumbled.

"It was a little bit," he mused.

"What happened?" Fletcher asked.

"We met at the Requiem Ball, then when I saw him again on the midnight train, I asked if he wanted my number," she explained quickly with a small shrug before Skulduggery could open his mouth.

Fletcher thought about it for a moment. "He rejected you?" he asked with a small grin.

"No he just rejected my number."

Fletcher laughed.

"It wasn't funny," she insisted.

"It was kind of funny," said Skulduggery, setting off Fletcher into another bout of laughter.

"You two are impossible."


	6. Chapter 6

No one spoke in the Bentley as Skulduggery drove. Fletcher sat in the back, watching the road ahead through the windshield, but also studying Valkyrie out of the corner of his eye. He thought about how strange it was that you could know so much about someone but still so very little. For example, he knew all three of Valkyrie's names, and the names of more of her family members than he could count on one hand. He knew she grew up in Haggard and had hated the quietness of it. He knew she was afraid of small spaces. Yet even knowing all of this, he was still at a loss about what was going through her mind, especially since she had gotten back.

When Skulduggery had called him asking if he would be willing to help her move to Gordon's house, he didn't know what to expect. He didn't know if she would be the same person after everything that had happened, in fact he was almost positive she wouldn't be. During the move and the few times he had seen her since, she seemed to be the almost same old Val, a little more unsure of herself maybe, but overall the same. Every once in a while though, now for instance, when it was quiet and she thought no one was watching, he could tell something was different. Usually she would have been complaining about the lack of leads, or the length of the drive, or something, but instead she was lost in thought, a puzzled look on her face. It was in these quiet moments that he was reminded of everything that had transpired five years ago.

Even after everything—their break-up, what happened between him and Stephanie, Darquesse—he still cared about Valkyrie. They were friends and they always seemed to find a way back into each other's lives. Even when he had moved to a different continent they had somehow ended up working together again. He had to admit, not having her around the last five years had been…odd. Her absence had felt like the last time he had tried getting a short haircut: out of habit he would reach up to touch his hair, only to discover it wasn't there. Out of habit he would keep waiting for one of her sarcastic comments, only to realize it wasn't coming.

The Bentley rounded a corner as the sun began to peek out from the clouds, making Fletcher squint.

"It's too bright," Valkyrie complained, raising her hand to her eyes.

"Not if you don't have eyes," Skulduggery retorted.

"Silly me, I should try that." From the back seat, Fletcher could only see the back of her head, but he could hear the eyeroll in her voice, signaling the temporary return of the old Valkyrie.

They pulled into the driveway of Gordon's house and Valkyrie got out, not bothering to look back as she walked up the front door. Once she was inside, Skulduggery pulled away.

"Not to be rude, Fletcher," Skulduggery said, after several minutes. "But you can teleport so what are you still doing in my car?"

Fletcher blinked. "Oh, sorry. Guess I just wasn't thinking," he said, but still didn't teleport away.

Skulduggery sighed, "We're going to have to talk now, aren't we? Well, at least move up to the front seat."

Fletcher did.

"Why did you come today, Fletcher?" Skulduggery asked.

"To be honest, I'm not quite sure," Fletcher admitted. "I told myself it was because I was curious, but…" Fletcher hesitated.

"But it was at least a little bit about Valkyrie," Skulduggery guessed.

Fletcher nodded, then remembered Skulduggery was watching the road and couldn't see him. "Yes."

Skulduggery was silent for a moment, then said, "Look, my knowledge of what happened between you two is all in vague terms, and I would prefer to keep it that way. In fact, I would like to stay out of this as much as possible. However, I think you need to know something: the Valkyrie that just got out of the car and the Valkyrie you dated are two very different people for better or for worse. The Valkyrie that just got out of the car and the one you helped move to Colorado five years ago are very different for that matter."

"I know that," Fletcher replied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm not stupid," Fletcher said, indignantly.

"Brilliant, just wanted to be sure you knew," Skulduggery said. He paused. "Fletcher?"

"Yup?"

"Please get out of my car now."

"Right." Fletcher teleported away.

Valkyrie sat on the couch, watching _Doctor Who_. She hadn't had cable, or even internet, in Colorado, so to say she was behind was an understatement. The episode ended and she looked at the clock, which read nearly midnight. With a sigh, she flicked off the TV.

Xena padded along behind her as she went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She looked in the mirror. Five years after Stephanie's death and she still hated how much she looked like her Reflection. She realized this was a stupid thing to hate, after all, her Reflection was from her reflection in the mirror, which was what she was looking at and hating how much it looked like her Reflection. She spit into the sink and stood for a moment longer looking at herself in the mirror.

"I've had enough of this," she finally said to her reflection. "Enough feeling sorry for yourself." She grabbed a pair of scissors from the kitchen and went back to the bathroom.

After a deep breath, she made the first cut, shortening her hair so it fell just past her collarbones. Still long enough to be tied back, but different enough from Stephanie. Within five minutes, she had gotten it mostly even and managed to get hair all over the bathroom.

"Better," Valkyrie said to herself with a faint grin.

Xena began to bark, and Valkyrie turned away from the mirror, following the noise to find the dog looking out one of the front windows. Outside, it was too dark for Valkyrie to see much, but she could make out what appeared to be the faint outline of a car. A knock on the door caused her to jump.

Cautiously, she moved towards the door, sneaking a glance out the window to see that whoever had knocked was nowhere to be seen. She flung the door open and poked her head out, looking all around, but still seeing no one. She heard an engine in the distance. Right in front of the door, there was an envelope, which she picked it up.

There was no address, no name, no writing of any kind on the outside of the envelope. When she opened it, Valkyrie found that it was another magazine cut out, serial killer style letter. It read:

 _To the Skeleton Detective and friends,_

 _Don't look for him because you will never find him._

 _Cordially,_

 _Killer Supreme, Obedient Servant of Mevolent_

She snapped a picture with her phone and sent it in a text to Skulduggery and Fletcher, with the caption "You were right. Meet tomorrow morning?" She jammed her phone in her pocket, made sure all the doors were locked, and took one last peek out the front window before heading up to her bed. By the time she was under the covers, both Skulduggery and Fletcher had replied "yes."


	7. Chapter 7

When Valkyrie got into the Bentley the next morning, Fletcher was already sitting in the back seat. She could tell both he and Skulduggery saw her new hair, which she wore down, but she was glad neither of them said anything. Once she was in the car, she handed Skulduggery the envelope.

"When did you get this?" he asked, turning off the engine.

"Last night," she replied. "Someone knocked on the door. I couldn't see anyone, but I saw a car and heard it drive off after I had opened the door."

Fletcher leaned forward between the two front seats as Skulduggery opened the letter.

"Do you think they followed Hansard to Gordon's?" she asked.

"Seems the most likely explanation," Skulduggery said, still examining the letter.

"Why would they go through the trouble of letting Hansard know they had his father if they don't want anyone looking for him?" Fletcher asked.

Skulduggery looked up. "That's the million dollar question isn't it?"

Valkyrie thought for a moment. "Okay so this guy says he's a follower of Mevolent right? Is it possible that he's been a Mevolent follower since the war? Maybe Scapegrace wasn't the original Killer Supreme, even if he doesn't realize it."

"It's possible," Skulduggery said. "There should be a registry of Mevolent followers somewhere in the Sanctuary, if such a thing has survived all the Sanctuary explosions and moves over the last decade." He turned the key and the engine turned on.

"So we're going to go look through a bunch of old papers and hope we find something?" Fletcher asked.

"Essentially," Skulduggery replied.

Valkyrie sighed, leaning back against her seat. "I shouldn't have said anything."

They ended up in a dusty room in the Sanctuary.

Valkyrie coughed. "I love doing research," she said, sarcastically.

"That's the spirit," Skulduggery said, wading through stacks of files on the other side of the room.

"Do you have any idea what this registry should look like?" Fletcher asked, nearly tripping over a stack.

"None at all," Skulduggery replied, cheerfully.

"Awesome," sighed Valkyrie, surveying the room.

"Well, nothing's going to get done just standing around, start looking," said Skulduggery. "Valkyrie start in that corner, Fletcher start in that corner, and I'll start here." He pointed at each corner of the room as he spoke.

"What about that corner?" Valkyrie asked pointing to the unoccupied corner by the door.

"Let's hope we find it before then," Skulduggery said. "Theoretically it should be fairly large, but it's possible part of it has been lost along the way."

They all began going through stacks, taking one file folder off at a time, opening it up, briefly scanning the first page, before moving onto the next folder. They worked in silence like this for two hours, at which point Valkyrie began to feel she might lose her mind.

"I think I found something," Fletcher said, and Valkyrie and Skulduggery both looked up from their own piles hopefully. "Oh, never mind."

"Ugh, there has to be a better way to do this," Valkyrie complained, setting down the file she was holding and moving on to the next one.

"I suppose I could ask China if she knows where it might be," Skulduggery said. Valkyrie and Fletcher both stared at him without speaking. "Ah, I suppose I should have started there," he realized.

"You think?" Valkyrie asked.

"Well, no reason for us all to stop working," Skulduggery said. "You two stay here." Valkyrie thought about arguing, but realized she couldn't go in his place because she had no idea where China would be.

As soon as she was sure Skulduggery was gone, she turned to Fletcher. "If Skulduggery asks, I was working very hard the entire time he was gone."

Fletcher dropped the file he was holding. "So was I."

She grinned, jumping up to sit on top of a file cabinet. She looked around and neither of them said anything for a moment. "It's weird," she said, finally. "So much has changed since I left, but so much is still exactly how I remember it."

"Yeah?" Fletcher said.

"Even this room," she said. "In the original Dublin Sanctuary, the Repository was right next to where this room is now." She thought for a moment. "God, that was right after we met you when we broke into it."

"Wow," Fletcher said. "It's been what, ten years?"

"Yeah, it has been." Valkyrie laughed. "You were so annoying back then with your know-it-all attitude."

"I was annoying? If I had a know-it-all attitude, you definitely had one," he countered.

"Sometimes I miss those days," she admitted. "That's kind of messed up isn't it? I mean the world was about to end, but everything was straightforward. People who worshipped the Faceless Ones were bad and everyone who wanted to stop them were good."

Fletcher shrugged. "That's understandable. Everything was definitely simpler back then."

She looked down at the floor and hesitated before saying, "Fletcher, do you think I'm a good person?"

"Of course," he replied without hesitation. "Why wouldn't you be? Darquesse wasn't you. I know that wasn't you. You're the one who saves the world, remember?"

"I don't think it's that simple." She ran her fingers through her hair, reaching the end much sooner than expected, and remembering she had cut it.

"Even if it's not, I don't think you'll ever be able to move on unless you accept there's nothing else you could have done to stop it," he said.

"I could have walked away when I found out my true name—I should have walked away."

"The world still needed you to save it."

"The world would have been fine," she said with a laugh. "It's survived the last five years, it could have survived that much longer without my intervention. Besides, my staying wasn't about the world, it was about me wanting to stay."

"Nothing major has happened in the last five years, not like the remnants escaping or Melancholia, and that's why the world has been okay," Fletcher replied.

"Someone else could have stopped those things."

Fletcher shook his head. "You know that's not true. You're Valkyrie Cain, prodigal sorcerer since age twelve and extreme bad ass. How many other 20 something year-olds can say they've saved the world more times than they can count on one hand."

"Fletcher, that's not the point," Valkyrie said, shaking her head.

"Then what is?" he asked.

She opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out.

"Exactly," Fletcher said. "You're being too hard on yourself. You did what you had to and things turned out badly. That doesn't make it your fault."

"Even before Darquesse though I don't know if I actually was a good person," Valkyrie said. "I mean, just because you fight on the right side, does that make you good? I wasn't doing it because it was good, I was doing it because it was _fun_."

"I don't think you really believe that."

"You know what I was like, Fletcher," she said. "I bloody cheated on you because I thought it was fun! I treated everything like a game."

"Valkyrie, from the way I understand you didn't choose to enter this world, this world all but physically dragged you into it," Fletcher said. "Yes, cheating on me wasn't a great thing to do, in fact I'd argue it was a pretty awful thing to do, but why did follow Skulduggery in the first place?"

"I wanted adventure."

"And?" he prompted.

"And following him was the way to get it," Valkyrie finished.

Fletcher sighed. "What was your first case?"

"Serpine stealing the Scepter, but I don't know what that has to do with any—"

"How did you meet Skulduggery?" he interrupted.

"Through Gordon—I saw him at his funeral, then after some guy broke into Gordon's house looking for a key."

"So you're telling me, not even one little part of you followed Skulduggery to find out what happened to your uncle? Because I've heard Ghastly say you told him as much."

"Maybe a little, but—" she stopped. "When did you talk to Ghastly about me?"

Fletcher instantly went tomato red. "We talked a few times, right after we broke up. That's not important though, the point is, this didn't all start because you wanted to have fun, it started because you wanted to do something for Gordon."

"If that's true, I wouldn't have stuck around after Serpine was dead—he was the one who killed Gordon."

"So after you nearly got killed avenging your uncle you stayed for shits and giggles?"

"Honestly? Yes," she admitted. She shook her head. "I can't believe I'm arguing with you about this."

"Just like old times, right?" he semi-joked.

"That's the other thing, I was even worse while we were dating," she said. "I mean you were the best boyfriend a girl could ask for. You teleported me to different continents whenever I asked you to, but I still would yell at you."

"To be fair, I did tend to take things a little far," Fletcher admitted. "Even if I didn't like you risking your life, it was your life and I shouldn't have been telling you what to do with it. I was trying to be the protective boyfriend, but I kept forgetting that you could easily beat me up."

"We were a mess," she agreed just as the door flung open, and Dexter Vex walked in, causing all three of them to freeze.

"Oops," Vex said. "Didn't realize this room was occupado."

"We're working very hard in here," Valkyrie said, making a show of jumping off the filing cabinet and opening the next folder on her stack of files. She looked down at the page. "Wait, this is it."

"Damn," Fletcher said. "Good thing we were working that entire time or we might not have found it."

Vex narrowed his eyes. "Well, I'm just going to get my file and go." He walked over to the cabinet Valkyrie had just been sitting on, found the folder he was looking for, and was just about to leave when Skulduggery and China walked back in.

"We found it," Valkyrie said, lifting the folder up for them to see.

"Glad to see this has been a complete waste of my time," China said.

"That is generally how it works isn't it?" Skulduggery replied. "You find the thing you're looking for as soon as you ask for help." He tilted his head. "Hello, Vex."

"Hi," Vex replied. "Can I go now?"

"Of course," said Skulduggery, stepping aside from the doorway, allowing Vex to leave.

"So he's an elder now?" Valkyrie asked after he had left.

"Yes," said China. She looked around the room at the three of them. "This case you're working: anything major?"

"I don't think so," Skulduggery replied. "Seems like a straightforward kidnapping."

"Good," China said before walking away without any further comment.

"She seems cheerful," said Valkyrie.

"Definitely," said Fletcher.

Valkyrie coughed as dust was stirred up again. "Can we go now?" she asked.

"Do we have the registry?" asked Skulduggery.

"Yes," Valkyrie answered.

"Then yes."


End file.
